What to Do if You've Been Sideswiped
If you've been injured in a sideswiped car collision, you understand that it can be more complicated than two vehicles scraping against one another. Sideswiped accidents are sometimes far more serious than simple bumps and scratches. As with all accidents, they occur suddenly and take you by surprise. The resulting damages and injuries can cause minor inconveniences or significant life changes. If you were injured in a sideswiped car accident, you have the legal right to hold the responsible parties accountable for the damages they caused.
A side-swipe car accident is especially damaging when the crash involves a smaller car and a larger vehicle with a higher stature and a heavy, protruding bumper. While these and other features can protect passengers in Sport Utility Vehicles and light-duty trucks during accidents, they can cause extensive injuries to occupants in smaller passenger cars.
A sideswiped car's size, speed, and impact determine the occupants' risk for severe or catastrophic injuries. Injuries increase significantly when a tractor-trailer driver or a heavy commercial equipment operator causes a sideswiped car accident.
What Causes Sideswiped Accidents?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration determined that human error was a primary factor in 94 percent of all motor vehicle accidents. These statistics document accident-triggering behaviors such as distraction, alcohol use, drug impairment, speeding, and drowsy driving. It's no different with sideswipe collisions. Sideswipes occur when one vehicle operator makes a mistake and collides with the side of another vehicle. With a sideswipe, the human driving error often occurs during an attempted lane change.
The NHTSA studied commuting vehicles for the research described in Analysis of Lane Change Crashes and Near Crashes. They found that sideswipes often involved a driver's failure to look in front of him, look in the rearview mirror, or compensate for a blind spot. Sideswipe events occur between vehicles moving in the same direction and traveling in parallel lanes but also under other circumstances, such as.
- Oncoming vehicles can cause sideswipe accidents after near-miss, head-on collisions.
- Drivers sideswiped other vehicles at intersections while attempting to navigate a turn.
- Sideswipes occur during a driver's attempt to avoid a “forward threat” that could cause a crash.
- Drivers sideswiped parked vehicles before the parked vehicle entered the stream of traffic.
- Drivers can cause side-swipe events after misjudging the available maneuvering space or attempting to cut in front of another vehicle.
Sideswiped Accidents Can Cause Extensive Damage and Injuries
As sideswipes often involve grazing or glancing blows between vehicles, it seems reasonable that damage and injuries would be minimal. The reality is usually far more complicated. When a driver immediately recognizes and corrects a lane change error, the sideswipe is often nothing more than a glancing blow.
However, depending on the vehicles and the circumstances involved, sideswipe collisions can cause extensive damage and serious injuries in these situations:
- Vehicle mismatch: When an SUV, a large truck, or other heavy vehicle sideswipes a small car, it can cause significant damage, and the occupants may sustain far more severe injuries. The mismatch often allows the larger vehicle's extended bumper or reinforced metal sides to connect with a smaller vehicle's side window and lesser-reinforced upper areas.
- Tractor-trailer side underride: Side Underride sometimes occurs when the side of a tractor-trailer rig connects with the side of a small vehicle. When the trailer's bottom edge is higher than the smaller vehicle, it allows the smaller vehicle or a portion of its body to roll beneath the trailer's side. Underride often causes upper vehicle damage and passenger compartment intrusion, which seriously injures vehicle occupants.
- Full side engagement: When an oncoming vehicle avoids a front-end crash, sometimes the resulting sideswipe begins at the side front of a car and causes heavy damage along the entire side
- Speeding: In one recent year, statistics showed 299 of Florida's 3,112 auto accident fatalities were speed-related. NHTSA's statistics show that speeding caused 26 percent of auto accident fatalities nationwide. A speeding vehicle causes more damage and injuries during a side-swipe collision as speed produces a more forceful impact than a vehicle traveling at a slower speed.
Vehicle Safety Enhancements Don't Always Prevent Serious Injuries in Side-Swiped Car Crashes
When the IIHS began conducting side-impact tests in 2003, they improved NHTSA's existing side crash testing system. At that time, only one out of five vehicles rated high for side-impact safety. Since IIHS began side crashworthiness testing, manufacturers have consistently upgraded their designs. Many new private passenger vehicles have features that help save passengers' lives.
Vehicle designs include side reinforcements and more substantial passenger compartments. These improvements help vehicles withstand crashes and protect vulnerable occupants. They include features based on a child's age, height, and weight. Seat belts and front and side airbags protect vehicle occupants' upper body and head. Some vehicles have optional side airbag curtains for full-body protection. Parents also have child safety seat options.
When a car sustains severe sideswipe damage, these safety measures minimize injuries. They reduce passenger contact with shattered glass, distorted metal, and intruding components, but they can't prevent injuries completely. Inside a vehicle, there is a minimal space cushion between an outside impact and the people inside the car. During a side-swipe car accident, occupants are close enough to the exterior to absorb some of the impacts.
When an accident involves mismatched vehicles, the smaller vehicle's occupants remain vulnerable to serious head and upper body trauma. The vehicle's glass components, upper passenger compartment, roof, and child safety protections can't withstand a larger vehicle's weight, reinforced sides, and higher, larger bumper.
Lane Assist Technology Doesn't Help as Much as You Think in Side-to-Side Crashes
National safety agencies applaud recent advancements in vehicle automation and driver assistance technologies. As they become more common, they will help mitigate the 94 percent human accident factor that contributes to sideswipe accidents. Unfortunately, human error will remain an issue on Florida Highways and across the country.
Lane assistance technology alerts drivers when they leave their travel lanes. Lane-Keeping Assist corrects lane issues with automatic braking and steering. The automated intervention gives a driver time to regain control and prevent an accident. Warning and assistive technologies can potentially reduce sideswipes, frontal crashes, and rollovers caused by inappropriate lane changes, but they can't eliminate them entirely.
IIHS research determined that lane assistance technologies are limited in their ability to prevent accidents. Working with statistics generated by an NHTSA Crash Causation Survey, IIHS concluded that 34 percent of the drivers who caused lane-changing accidents lost control as they were falling asleep. Others had a medical issue, an 0.08 percent BAC, or some other condition that rendered them unresponsive and unaware.
Active Lane Assistance technology would not work for these drivers. Although automated assistance could prevent an initial crash, incapacitated drivers wouldn't have the awareness or the time to resume control. They might cause an accident anyway. The study recommended enhancing lane-keeping assistance with systems that tracked certain drivers to get them off the road.
What Happens When a Large Truck Sideswipes a Small Vehicle
When a large truck is involved in any type of accident, the potential for damage and injury increases. During a sideswipe event, a large truck's gross vehicle weight and speed often transform a glancing blow into a forceful impact capable of causing serious harm. Underride is an additional factor in large truck side-impact accidents. When a car is low enough to roll beneath a truck during an accident, the motion can easily destroy the car and seriously, catastrophically, or fatally injure the occupants.
Underride guards help prevent the side underride problem during sideswipes and other side-impact crashes. IIHS side-crash tests demonstrate that trailers with side guards have the potential for real-world crash injury reduction. Federal Transportation Code, 49 CFR §571.224, requires rear impact protection for trailers or semi-trailers with a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,356 kg. Although research proves that side underride guards also save lives, there is currently no statutory requirement for trailer side protection.
Pending legislation may change this safety inequity. In March 2019, a bipartisan group of senators reintroduced a bill entitled the Stop Underrides Act. The bill failed when previously introduced in 2017. If passed into law, it would require that all tractor-trailer owners install side, front, and rear guards.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association opposes the underride bill. They believe the enhanced safety requirements would create financial hardship for truckers and cause vehicle navigation issues. Whether mandatory or not, trailer owners are aware that this safety enhancement reduces injuries. If trailer owners refuse to meet a tested safety standard designed to mitigate damage and injuries, their actions could constitute gross negligence if they cause an underride accident.
What Type of Injuries Can Sideswiped Car Collisions Cause?
Not all sideswipe collisions cause serious injuries. The injury potential varies depending on the vehicles involved and the accident circumstances. Mismatched vehicles cause variations in injury location and severity. A study published by Science Direct in Accident Analysis & Prevention showed the relationship between higher, heavier vehicles to injury severity. While a sideswiped car accident can cause a variety of injuries, head and upper thorax damage are the most frequent medical problems from side-impact accidents involving mismatched vehicles.
Severe head trauma often causes traumatic brain injuries that require lifelong treatment and rehabilitation. Serious brain injuries leave injured victims with permanent impairments, lost income opportunities, and tremendous family and lifestyle changes.
Upper thoracic trauma causes damage to the skeletal system and internal organs. These dangerous injuries sometimes include spinal cord damage. People with spinal cord injuries often endure full or partial paralysis. They can lose sensation and bodily functions in areas at and below the point where the damage is located on their spine.
Who Pays for Your Medical Bills and Lost Income?
Florida's No-Fault Law requires that all registered vehicles have Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage on their auto insurance policies. When you're injured in an accident, your insurance company pays 80 percent of your medical bills and 60 percent of your lost income, regardless of who is at fault. Your insurer also pays expenses for accident-related property replacement services.
No-Fault benefits are designed to reduce claims and lawsuits against negligent drivers. However, you have a legal right to pursue compensation beyond PIP coverage if your injuries meet one of the tort exemptions outlined in §627.737. You may be able to sue the responsible party for pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and other general damages if you or a loved one experience:
- Significant, permanent loss of an important bodily function.
- Permanent injury, other than scarring or disfigurement.
- Significant, permanent scarring or disfigurement.
- Death
Dealing With Insurance Company Investigations and Negotiations
When you sustain injuries in a sideswipe event or any auto accident, you must deal with insurance company representatives. Your auto insurance policy requires that you turn in any potentially covered claims, so you have no choice. You must contact your auto insurance company to make a claim for your PIP benefits and report any claims that may involve your liability coverage. Your insurance company owes PIP benefits regardless of fault, but they may still ask for your recorded statement to better understand your version of the events and to confirm your injuries.
If your injuries don't immediately meet any of the above tort exemption categories, the other driver's insurance company may or may not contact you. If your injuries clearly meet a tort exemption, they may request your recorded statement to help them resolve their liability concerns. They will also ask for injury documentation to help determine your injury claim's value.
While your insurance company requires cooperation, you have no such requirement with a negligent driver's insurance company. Either way, before you provide a statement or any records, you should consider hiring an automobile accident lawyer to deal with both insurance carriers on your behalf.
If You Were Injured After Being Sideswiped, Contact an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer Near You
It's a good idea to consult with an auto accident lawyer who can help you understand the issues involved in your car collision. From the moment another driver sideswiped your car, your auto accident became one of the most stressful events in your life. Legal liability and injury issues further complicate the circumstances. It's important to work with an attorney as soon as possible. Legal representation is especially critical if you or a loved one sustained serious, accident-related injuries.
A skilled car accident attorney will listen to you, discuss your injuries, and determine if their law firm can help you successfully resolve your injury claim. Dedicated car accident attorneys will explain insurance coverage issues and help you manage insurance claim interactions to minimize complications and maximize your compensation.
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA
800 North Belcher Road
Clearwater, FL 33765
(727) 451-6900